Tornados ripped through the South yesterday, causing hundreds of deaths and massive destruction in several different states, including Virginia. Areas hardest-hit by the storms include Goochland, Halifax, Shenandoah, Washington and other southwest Virginia counties.

Brian Everitt from our Abingdon office is on the ground in Southwest Virginia today>, offering assistance in any way possible. Brian offered this quick report from Glade Spring, where storms resulted in the deaths of seven people:

We just traveled to Glade Spring [in Washington County] and can see damage from the highway. We can see homes and trees ripped up, and one state trooper said it was ‘massive destruction’ in town. We are getting in touch with elected officials to make sure they know we are here and prepared to offer whatever assistance they might need.

Dozens of tornadoes have been reported across a broad swath of Virginia in the past 24 hours. Funnel clouds also were spotted in Central Virginia. Jed Rasnick, a 22-year-old senior at Longwood University in Farmville and the brother of Senator Warner’s state travel director Cassidy Rasnick, snapped this photo of a funnel cloud near his campus apartment last night.

“It was wild," Jed said. "Longwood’s warning system sounded and kids ran for cover. People were really scared- a lot of students took shelter in the stairwells of the building - but I stood outside watching it for a few minutes. It is hard to believe it happened in Farmville. The storms were all day and night, with hail coming down the size of baseballs right before the tornado touched down. I have never seen anything like that except in movies."

More information is available at www.vaemergency.com. If you'd like to help, please visit the Red Cross's website.